Nicklaus Keeps His Life On Course

Jack Nicklaus, at 50, still is a man on the go. The businessman many call the greatest golfer of all time is so busy traveling to various courses he is building or has built, or to play in some tournament, he sometimes isn’t sure whether he’s coming or going.

Nicklaus has earned worldwide acclaim as an architect and builder of golf courses. The courses he has had a hand in building number nearly 100.

Now he is starting another endeavor, the Senior PGA Tour. In his first venture as a senior, he picked up $140,000 in the Senior Skins Game, won by Arnold Palmer. His first senior tournament will be the Traditions at Scottsdale, Ariz., the last weekend in March. He has said he will play only a couple of others. Even so, they add to his busy schedule.

Busy as he may be, though, there is one rule he doesn’t break. He always has time for his family.

Nicklaus and his wife Barbara, will celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary July 23. Both grew up in Columbus, Ohio, but they didn’t meet until their first week at Ohio State. They were married between their junior and senior years. They have five children, four boys and a girl. The oldest, Jack II, is 28. Steve is 26, Nan 24, Gary 21 and Michael 16.

In an era in which offspring of top athletes and other celebrities are often in trouble, the Nicklaus’ problems have been minor. It is no accident. Nicklaus has made time for his children.

“When we were first married, I vowed never to be gone more than two weeks at a time,” he said. “The only time we were gone longer than that was when we took my parents and Barbara’s with us when we visited Gary Player in South Africa. We were gone 17 days and I said, ‘Never again.’ ”

The children are one reason Nicklaus has not played as many tournaments as most other professional golfers. He has been there for Little League, football games, basketball games and graduations. He once flew from Mexico to Tallahassee, Fla., between rounds of a golf tournament to see a game.

“My kids have a tough way to go,” Nicklaus said. “My father wasn’t just supportive of me, he went with me to events. He was my best friend. I wanted to be there for my kids.

“Sometimes, sitting at a game I think they don’t really care whether I’m there or not, but they do. You find that out later.

“I feel pretty good that we don’t have a drug or a drinking problem. Of course, it could change sometime, but Barbara and I have made a conscious effort.”

Lee Trevino, for one, envies the rapport Jack has with his children.

“When I had my first two kids I was so busy playing golf, I never spent much time with them,” Trevino said. “It wasn’t until Olivia (who has just turned 1) that I found out how much fun it can be. She travels with us and I’m enjoying it all. I’m just sorry I wasn’t close to my other children, and now it’s too late.”

Barbara says Jack is lucky in other ways too.

“There are many men who go through life never enjoying what they do for a living,” she said. “Jack hasn’t had just one, he’s had two jobs he really loves. Sometimes he’ll complain that he didn’t have enough time to prepare for a certain tournament. But it’s because he loves building courses too.

“When we were married, Jack was playing amateur golf and selling insurance. He wasn’t sure about turning pro. But he didn’t like selling insurance.”

Even though most of the kids are grown up, Nicklaus hasn’t changed the way he does things. Michael, a sophomore at Benjamin school, a small private school in North Palm Beach, Fla., which all the children attended, is on the basketball team. Nicklaus proudly said that he attended the team’s first 17 games, not missing any until he went to Hawaii for the Skins Game.

For a while, he caddied for his sons, who play golf. But when Gary was disqualified during qualifying for the U.S. Amateur for having too many clubs in his bag, Jack’s caddying days ended.

“It’s a lot tougher watching my kids play than it is for me to play golf,” he said.

Nicklaus gives much of the credit for the way the kids turned out to his wife.

“She runs the house and I play the golf,” he said.

Said Barbara: “It isn’t easy being the son of Jack Nicklaus. You have to do 200% to get credit for 75%. I think they’ve done pretty well.

“Jackie didn’t start getting serious about golf until he was 24. Not many who start that late do very well, but let’s wait and see. He just missed qualifying for the Ben Hogan Tour (the PGA Tour’s new satellite competition). Last year he played the Canadian tour and maybe he’ll play it again.

“Steve needed to do his own thing. He’s in Palm Springs right now, working for Jim Cook’s Championship Management Co. His wife’s due (to have a baby) on Valentine’s Day. It will be our first grandchild.

“Nan is also married. She’s in the middle of four boys. She has been known to use the fact that she’s the only girl. She takes advantage of it.

“Gary is a junior at Ohio State. He’s a clone of Jack. He even walks the same way. He’s on the golf team. Some people think he has a chance to be an outstanding golfer. We’ll see.

“Michael, in addition to playing basketball, also is a tennis player.”

The four older children received college athletic scholarships.

“Benjamin is a small school and they encourage everyone to participate in sports,” Barbara said. “Nan got a volleyball scholarship. She also played soccer and softball.”

Jack and Barbara say that although they exposed the children to sports, they never pushed them. Still, their home in North Palm Beach resembles a sports complex. There are two tennis courts, a putting green and sand trap, half a basketball court and a swimming pool.

The children admit that they have sometimes found it difficult being the offspring of Jack Nicklaus. They know comparisons will be made. Recently, Gary told Michael, who is just now learning about the problem, “You might just as well get used to it. It’s always going to be there.”

The family relationship is something special, though, much the way it was with Nicklaus and his father, a pharmacist who owned three drugstores in Columbus.

Jackie once told a reporter, “I see Jack Nicklaus, not as a great golfer, but as a great father. I have great parents.”

There is an intense rivalry in sports among them, according to Barbara.

“When Jack used to come home he wouldn’t play any golf,” she said. “Now, the boys make him play. They try to talk each other out of shots and Jack still is the best at it.

“Playing with his sons has sharpened his competitive instincts. The boys have played a big part in getting him ready to play in tournaments.”

Barbara said Jack is improving as a fan at his kids’ games. He used to get angry at officials and yell at them. He’s finally learning to enjoy the games, she said.

A reporter told Nicklaus, who said he was too busy for an interview of any length, how cooperative his wife was and he replied, “Yes, she is so good at making up for me that not too many people really know what a terrible guy I really am.”